- Title: Unearthed letter shows Trump's grandfather pleaded to stay in Germany
- Date: 22nd November 2016
- Summary: SPEYER, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 22, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF RHINELAND-PALATINATE'S REGIONAL STATE ARCHIVES VARIOUS OF FRANZ MAIER, HEAD OF STATE WRITINGS AT THE ARCHIVES, LOOKING FOR DOCUMENTS AND SHOWING FRIEDRICH TRUMP'S LETTER, ASKING TO RETURN TO GERMANY AND TO BE RE-NATURALISED (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF STATE WRITINGS AT RHINELAND-PALATINATE'S REGIONAL STATE ARCHIVES, FRANZ MAIER, SAYING: "These documents show an occurrence from the beginning of the twentieth century when an emigrant named Friedrich Trump left for the United States from the small Palatinate town of Kallstadt. After about twenty years, he decided he wanted to return to Palatinate. He wanted to be re-naturalised in Bavaria so he applied to the authorities accordingly which unfortunately turned him down. So he had to return to the United States." PAN DOWN DOCUMENT IN GERMAN READING IN PART "FRIEDRICH TRUMP - HIS EXPULSION" (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF STATE WRITINGS AT RHINELAND-PALATINATE'S REGIONAL STATE ARCHIVES, FRANZ MAIER, SAYING: "In the year 1902, he made a trip home and met a woman in his home town whom he then married. He returned to the United States with this woman but she did not enjoy life there too much. She lasted for around two years before making it known that she wanted to return to Germany. That was the reason for Trump to travel to Germany in 1904 to apply for a re-naturalisation." VARIOUS OF DOCUMENT DATED 6 JUNE, 1905 PAN DOWN HAND-WRITTEN LETTER (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF STATE WRITINGS AT RHINELAND-PALATINATE'S REGIONAL STATE ARCHIVES, FRANZ MAIER, SAYING: "To the authorities in Bavaria it was very important that emigrants deregister properly and that they demand a permit for the emigration, especially if they had not yet served in the military. If people emigrated without that permit it meant that their resettlement in Bavaria was turned down. This was meant as a deterrent so that people would not emigrate without a permit." PAN ACROSS DOCUMENT READING IN GERMAN "NEW YORK, 20 DECEMBER 1906" PAN DOWN DOCUMENT (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF STATE WRITINGS AT RHINELAND-PALATINATE'S REGIONAL STATE ARCHIVES, FRANZ MAIER, SAYING: "It's a standard decision here at our archives that we keep certain types of documents. Documents on emigrants are viewed as particularly important from a historic point of view which is why documents on emigrants are kept here permanently." MAIER GOING THROUGH DOCUMENTS
- Embargoed: 7th December 2016 19:32
- Keywords: Germany Donald Trump archive home town emigrant
- Location: SPEYER AND KALLSTADT, GERMANY
- City: SPEYER AND KALLSTADT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00159J10LJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:German archivists have found a letter written by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's grandfather, begging to be allowed to stay in his German homeland after his new wife failed to settle in to life in the United States.
The letter signed by Friedrich Trump, who left Germany at the age of 16 in 1885, was unearthed in files at the state archives in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Friedrich Trump returned from the United States to Germany in 1902 and met and later married his wife, Elisabeth, with whom he returned to New York.
"She lasted for around two years before making it known that she wanted to return to Germany," Franz Maier of the Rhineland-Palatinate state archives in Speyer told Reuters Television.
Friedrich had, however, failed to deregister properly before he left Germany and therefore was not allowed to be re-naturalised in Bavaria, which was then its own kingdom.
An accompanying document in the archived dossier read: "the settlement in Bavaria cannot be permitted."
That fateful rejection could be said to have set off the series of events that ended up with Donald Trump being elected U.S. president. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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